Mirabel takes its inspiration from its West End location

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Mirabel at English Bay

Where: 1345 Davie Street, Vancouver

What: Two neighbouring 18- and 19-storey buildings comprising 149 units; 105 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom, 36 studio/one-bedroom/one-bedroom and den, plus 68 social housing units that will be owned by the City of Vancouver

Residence sizes and prices:  Studio/one-bedrooms, 405 to 915 square feet, from $615,900; two-bedrooms, 756 to 1,336 square feet. from $910,900; three bedrooms, 2,132 to 2,659 square feet, from $5.25 million

Developer and builder: Marcon Developments

Sales centre: 1283 Davie Street, Vancouver

Hours: open by appointment

For creative designers like Alda Pereira, inspiration can come from anywhere: a piece of artwork, a textile’s pattern or shade, or the blue of a morning sky.
The influences for Pereira’s work in the interiors at Mirabel, Marcon’s planned West End condo project, found their origins close to home — in the West End itself.

The architecture of many older buildings, and the beaches surrounding one of Vancouver’s oldest and most beautiful communities provided a palette for Pereira. She says she was inspired by both the natural and man-made local features in her vision for even the smallest kitchen and bathroom detail.
“The palette from the beach at English Bay, the spirit of the modern midcentury buildings along Beach Avenue, as well as the West End neighbourhood vibe of casual sophistication, are reflected in the hexagon -haped marble tiles used in the kitchen backsplash and the secondary bathrooms in particular,” Pereira says of the interior design of Mirabel’s display space, a unit with two bedrooms and a den.

The two highrises that will make up Mirabel at English Bay will fit right into the character of a community popular among homebuyers, renters and tourists alike. In one Mirabel rendering, white and cream dominate the main kitchen and dining space, seen in a stunning circular pendant lighting over the dining table, chairs and the marble rectangular marble table. The calming palette takes its influences, such as sand and light grey, from the beach, Pereira says.

 “The mix of varying shades and textures, such as the softness of the velvet upholstered dining chairs in the oyster grey with the hard marble, creates a juxtaposition that provides visual interest,” she notes.
“The pendant lighting introduces a flash of the past [as it embraces] the ‘70s with its characteristic shape of two opposing outside, mobile shades…This asymmetrical art light is a statement in any space.”

Buyers can choose from one of two themes, ‘Beach’ and ‘City’; a suite at the sales centre showcases the ‘Beach’ option with white-oak engineered hardwood floors and white cabinetry.

If Pereira were a homeowner at Mirabel, she says, she’d choose the finishes characteristic of the ‘Beach’ theme.

Or maybe not.

“I prefer the lighter ‘Beach’ scheme because it brings a carefree casual feeling into the space but I also love the sexy drama of the darker ‘City’ schemes​. “It’s a difficult choice for a Gemini.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Prospective tenants? privacy queried

Derrick Penner
The Province

B.C.’s acting Information and Privacy Commissioner is moving to crack down on landlords that invade the privacy of prospective tenants through rental applications that ask too many questions, the agency said Wednesday.

Acting commissioner Drew McArthur called for an investigation into what questions major landlords and public housing agencies are asking and whether the requests are becoming unreasonable. The decision came after his office noticed a jump in calls and complaints about the issue in the past year.

Low vacancy rates in cities such as Victoria and Metro Vancouver “means people are in a tough spot,” feeling like they can’t refuse requests for detailed personal information, said Brad Weldon, director of policy at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

“Because we have this power imbalance right now,” Weldon said. Landlords “can ask for information that’s clearly, likely offside of (the Protection of Information and Privacy Act), but they sort of have the upper hand.”

That imbalance is part of the reason why the commissioner is launching a broad investigation, Weldon said.

“We just don’t think we can count on individuals to make complaints. There is too much at stake for them.”

Landlords can ask for a reasonable amount of information to confirm applicants are who they say they are and are capable of paying rent, but McArthur’s office is hearing of cases of prospective tenants being asked for complete bank statements and T4 income forms, which are out of bounds.

Tenant-rights adviser Andrew Sakamoto has been at the sharp end of the issue as a renter facing requests by landlords to provide his Social Insurance Number in applications, though the privacy office considers the number a highly sensitive piece of personal information that shouldn’t have any bearing on rental application.

“I even ended up providing it to my landlord because, you know, you’re desperate for housing and you want to secure a tenancy,” said Sakamoto, executive director of the Tenants Resource and Advisory Centre in Vancouver.

Sakamoto said questions about a prospective tenant’s rights to refuse handing over such information are definitely common in calls to his agency’s staff and at seminars that he delivers, but it is challenging for the agency to give solid advice.

“If you are a tenant and you try to stand up for your rights, (the landlord) is just going to move on to the next person,” Sakamoto said, and he hopes the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s efforts reduces “requests for excessive and unnecessary information.”

Postmedia calls to Landlord B.C., a lobbyist for the rental housing sector, weren’t returned by deadline.

Weldon said that in the coming months, his office will ask for and review rental applications from major rental firms and public-housing agencies, and ask people to provide information on their experiences as prospective tenants.

The investigation will also consider the limited extent to which landlords should be allowed to use the internet and social media to research and screen potential tenants, Weldon said.

If the investigation determines that landlords are asking for unnecessary information, its report will make recommendations for how they should change their practices.

“Our hope is, if everybody knows what is allowed and what isn’t allowed, there will be less of this information (collected),” Weldon said, “and tenants will face fewer requests for information that everybody knows you don’t have to give.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

other

While it’s no secret that real estate remains out of affordable reach for many young Canadian adults, the majority still aspire to own a detached home one day – even if it’s just a pipe dream.

Only 36 per cent of “peak” millennials – those aged 25 – 30 – feel owning a house will ever be a reality, according to a Royal LePage study that surveyed 1,000 aspiring buyers. It found that only a third of this age group own their homes, as 50 per cent remain in the rental market, and 14 per cent live with their parents.

That’s having a profound impact on traditional homeownership trends, says Royal LePage President and CEO Phil Soper, as the huge size of this demographic – which will grow by 17 per cent in 2021, compared to 2016 – puts pressure on the supply of affordable housing.

“The pent-up demand for housing is enormous, with only a third of this large demographic currently owning a property and an overwhelming majority desiring to become homeowners,” he says.

“Whether they choose to buy or rent, peak millennials will inevitably shape the housing market due to their sheer volume. We expect demand from this demographic to put additional pressure on entry-level housing and investment properties being used to supplement the limited inventory of purpose-built rental buildings.”

Peak millennials face challenges their “baby boomer parents never encountered”, including stiffer mortgage qualification rules, limited home supply, and high prices in the best job markets. That’s prompted 52 per cent of them to consider moving to the suburbs to improve their affordability, especially when it comes time to raise a family (59 per cent). A full 69 per cent say they can’t afford a home in their region at all, while 24 per cent say they can’t qualify for a mortgage.

© 2015-2016 Zoocasa Realty Inc.,

Political party aims to further cool market

REP

The leader of British Columbia’s Green party wants to see the government ban foreigners from buying farmland in a bid to cool the province’s real estate market.

Andrew Weaver says many non-residents are buying land zoned for agricultural use in Metro Vancouver, but instead of farming they’re building large homes and selling the property for inflated prices.

He says the result is a loss of food security and higher real estate prices in an already overheated market.

Several other provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Prince Edward Island, have measures in place regulating who can purchase farmland.

Weaver says the proposed prohibition would not apply to anyone who pays taxes in Canada, including Canadians living overseas and people in the country on work visas.

Last year the province’s previous Liberal government implemented a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers purchasing residential real estate in Metro Vancouver, but the levy does not apply to farmland.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

While home sales volume growth in Vancouver seems to have abated somewhat in recent months, demand for the city’s residential land does not appear to be petering out any time soon, with a single-family home near Cambie Street and 35th Avenue having just been listed for an eye-popping $11 million.

According to B.C. Assessment, the property’s listed value is now nearly twice the price it sold for only around 18 months ago.

The listing came in the wake of increased densification in Cambie Street recently. While many homes in the area have already been purchased for upcoming condo construction projects, 485 W 35TH Avenue remains one of the few properties to have not been slated for further development.

UBC Sauder School of Business professor Tsur Sommerville said that remarkable price surges such as this tend to arise from rapid development.

“As we’re getting rezoning and increasing densities, what that’s doing is basically providing a source of value,” Sommerville told CBC News, adding that similar increases can be observed in other transit corridors like Granville and Oak Streets.

“A piece of land when you can only build a single family house on it might be worth $2 million, but that same land, if you can build a six-storey condo building or a six-storey rental apartment building, might be worth $4 million.”

Former real estate agent John Lopes expressed bewilderment at the listing.

“I think this is totally ridiculous,” Lopes said. “At some point there’s going to be a break. I don’t know when, but it will. It always has.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Atrina Kouroshnia
REW

If you live here in Vancouver I certainly don’t need to tell you the issues plaguing us: soaring home prices, an inadequate supply of smaller units, too many water-damaged pairs of boots. But as they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. Which is exactly how I found myself working more Prepaid city leaseholds this 2017.

Don’t know what a leasehold property is? Don’t worry. Here’s a basic introduction with some finer talking points.

What the Heck is a Leasehold Property?

A leasehold property means that the owner owns the house/townhouse/condo itself but not the land it is built on. That land is leased to the home owner by the land owner. Leasehold land is basically a plot of land that has been rented out to a developer, who then builds on the land and rents the property for a certain sum of money (or a portion of it as with an apartment building or condo). The leases on the plots of land are typically for extended periods of time (think up to 100 years or more), very often pre-paid up front (see section below), and often belong to either the City, or in many cases a corporation, a University or are First Nations Reserve lands.

On the WeLoveEastVanwebsite, you can find some great examples of leasehold land in Vancouver. The land on south False Creek close to Granville Island, for example, as well as in south-east Vancouver along the Fraser River, are leaseholds owned by the City of Vancouver, whereas various corporations own much of the leasehold land in Vancouver’s West End.

How Long Can I Own a Leasehold Property?

If you decide to buy a leasehold property, you are essentially purchasing the right to possess that property until the end of the lease, or until you sell it to someone else – whichever comes first. If the lease expires and you are still in the home, you will have to renegotiate your terms for leasing the land your home is standing on – often at considerable expense. Or, in instances where the property was passed down from one person to another (throughout a family from parent to child say) and the lease is about to expire, whomever is the current owner would have to renegotiate.

With a leasehold property it is extremely important to find out these details before you make a purchase. All leasehold land will have a lease agreement outlining details such as the terms of the lease, and what happens at the end of the lease. If you own property on non-pre-paid leasehold land (ie, you are making monthly lease payments), the lease agreement will also tell you whether the owner can raise your lease payments and, if so, at what intervals of time.

More About Pre-Paid Leases

In addition to your strata fees and taxes, you may or may not be required to pay a monthly lease payment on your leasehold property. The only way to find out is by carefully reviewing the lease agreement.

A pre-paid lease means that the developer has paid the lease payments ahead of time, so you will not have an extra bill; although most likely the owner has combined these fees into the overall value of the property itself. Non-pre-paid leases, as are often found on First Nations Land, will see you ponying up one more expense every month. On the other hand, it might mean that your home’s overall value was or is lower upon purchase.

Can I Get a Mortgage on a Leasehold Property?

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this question. Generally speaking, however, leaseholds are more challenging. To begin with, most lenders will not approve a mortgage for a term or an amortization that is longer than the lease itself, which, depending on the lease’s expiration date can be problematic.

Any time the property is not a freehold strata there will be limits, but if you are interested in a City of Vancouver leasehold, some lenders will be more open to the possibility. Your options will be reduced for a First Nations reserve leasehold, and private leaseholds are the most challenging. In many cases the only option may be a private lender but even that is not a guarantee.

When looking for mortgage on a leasehold property, the lender will look at everything: income, credit score, down payment, and of course the property itself. Recent clients of mine, a lovely young couple from Vancouver, just purchased a 1,200 square foot town-home in east Vancouver for $490,000. Their lease is a little over 60 years; but they were extremely happy with their choice. It is in a gentrifying neighbourhood with lots of amenities, and they were able to obtain a mortgage through a big bank with getting their best rate. Also, because leasehold land is much cheaper than freehold land for similar properties, they would not have been able to find anything similar at that same price point.

If you choose a leasehold property, you will be limited as to the lenders and mortgage rates. But to put things into perspective, as with any home that you buy there will be lenders that like it and lenders that won’t.

Read the fine print, make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, and seek out advice from someone with experience.

© 2017 REW.ca

Joannah Connolly
REW

Cost of housing hasn?t damaged city?s ranking, although its points have slipped slightly in Economist report

Despite its points sliding slightly, Vancouver has held onto its third-place ranking for the seventh consecutive year in what is arguably the most-respected global liveable cities chart.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) placed Vancouver third under Melbourne, Australia and Vienna, Austria. Toronto came in fourth place, just a hair behind Vancouver in points, whereas in previous years Vancouver enjoyed a bigger lead over Toronto. Calgary was in joint fifth place with Adelaide, Australia.

The EIU’s ranking tends to prioritize medium-sized cities in large, developed countries with low-density populations. Six of the top 10 cities are in Australia and Canada.

This year’s top 10 list is identical to last year’s. However, outside the top 10, several cities such as Manchester and Stockholm have been downgraded because of recent terror activity.

EIU researchers ranked cities based on five categories – stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Housing affordability is just one of the seven sub-categories in the infrastructure section, so even if this factor was ranked poorly, it would likely have fairly little effect on the overall score.

Vancouver was ranked number one between 2004 and 2010, but was relegated to third place in 2011 after the EIU factored in bad traffic on the Malahat – a highway on Vancouver Island.

© 2017 REW.ca

NDP must send message that ?speculation will end sooner, rather than later,? says Green leader

Sam Cooper
The Province

B.C.’s government must fight raging land speculation by banning non-resident purchases of B.C. farmland and extending a residential foreign-buyer tax across the province, Green party Leader Andrew Weaver said Tuesday.

In an interview, Weaver said the introduction of Metro Vancouver’s 15-per-cent, foreign-buyer tax in July 2016 initially cooled markets, but quickly led to speculation in other areas, such as Lower Mainland farmland.

“It is critical we act,” Weaver said, noting shocking examples such as the listing reported in this story — a Surrey Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) property that is currently assessed at $3 million, but is advertised for sale at $37 million.

“The NDP need to start sending the market a message that the speculation will end sooner, rather than later,” Weaver said.

Weaver is proposing that foreign buyers be banned from buying parcels of farmland over a certain acreage. The limit would be lower in the Lower Mainland, he said.

“The problem is wealthy people, some from inside Canada and some from outside, are using agriculture reserve land for speculation.”

Other Canadian provinces such as Saskatchewan have foreign-owner restrictions for farmland, Weaver noted.

Postmedia News has reported that land-sale data shows farmland prices surged in the Fraser Valley after the residential, foreign-buyer tax was introduced.

The latest eye-popping ALR listing is in Surrey, in the 13,000-block Coulthard Road. The 24-acre property is mostly farmland-zoned, but has several acres zoned for residential use. It comes with an aging two-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow.

Land records show owner Li Wang bought the property in May 2015 for $1.55 million. It’s now listed online for $37 million. The property was assessed at $1.98 million in 2016. It jumped to an assessed value of $2.96 million in 2017.

An ad from Royal Pacific Realty says the property has a “park-like forest setting.”

“It has an excellent redevelopment play or would make a great holding property,” the ad says. “Hold and build your dream country estates. Seller is designing a unique, concept-like theme park with castle quarter, mini golf course, man-made lake, fish pond with waterfall, fruit garden … Price reflects the value!”

Land documents say Li Wang’s owner address is at a Richmond furniture shop in the 4000-block No. 3 Road. An employee at the shop who answered Postmedia’s call Tuesday said Li Wang wasn’t available for comment.

Meanwhile, new NDP Housing Minister Selina Robinson has said the government must review data on measures such as the Metro foreign-buyer tax before considering whether to make any moves on housing affordability.

According to Weaver, the NDP campaigned with promises to tackle housing affordability, but have been too quiet since taking office. He said in the coming days he will announce plans to press the NDP into action.

Weaver said a farmland foreign-buyer restriction and residential tax extension could be rolled out almost immediately in B.C. Other reforms, such as new speculation tax measures or bans on obscure legal ownership structures, would require more time and planning, Weaver said.

Weaver’s anti-speculation message will put pressure on the NDP, which must rely on his support in an ongoing power-sharing deal. Without the support of the three Green MLAs, the 41-seat NDP government would be at risk of being toppled by the 43-seat Liberal opposition.

As Postmedia has reported, speculators can avoid the 15-per-cent tax on residential property by buying bare farmland and building a house on it, and there are also property-tax advantages. For example, an ad from Royal Pacific Realty advertises a small acreage in Richmond with building plans for a 12,000-square-foot mansion: “Set up your own private driving range, swimming pool or tennis court. It’s all permitted on ALR land and, because of the farm status, you pay no property tax,” the ad says.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.